Statement of Practice.
I mainly work in the practice of drawing and
painting and at times intertwining both. I have a fascination with the head and
figure which is a recurring theme in my work. Common motifs such as spheres,
cubes and various squiggles also regularly appear in and out of my work like a
common obsession. Repetitiveness is my standard way of working, using symbols
and motifs from religion, mysticism and alchemy as well as shapes and forms
that have appeared in previous works many times over.
I consider the surface of each piece of work I
begin as an experimental playground or an arena in which to act. I am always
uncertain as to how the end product will appear so there is always an element
of chance and room for maneuver in my process. There is even the allowance for
mistakes to be accepted or eliminated. I tend to also work in a very detailed
and laborious manner, building up areas with various forms of shapes, lines and
cross hatching. The image of the head and figure seems to be a subconscious
decision as it is instantly the first thing I draw or paint almost without
hesitation. To uncover the meaning behind this psychological decision would
change the mystique of the mind when drawing. I prefer to keep working in this
unexplainable fashion.
I use various different materials including
drawing pen, ink, acrylic, graphite as well as less conventional materials such
as bitumen, beeswax and black electrical tape which I use for distributing depth
in my work. I always prefer to work on a large scale on both paper and canvas
because I like to think of my work on this scale as possible blueprints for, or
additions to, future ideas of ‘environments’. Working this large also gives me
much more liberation than when working small scale, the paradox being that my
mark making is, more or less, very minute and detailed, and a restrictive and
time consuming operation. I never think of my work as a finished article as
such, because I always think there could be additions made or elements of the
work removed or covered up. I like to think every single rough sketch, doodle,
painting, self-portrait, life drawing, slide-frame thumbnail and copy from a
masterpiece is part of a lifelong practice with an unintended destination.
Subject matter, concept, plot or idea are never
much of a concern in my work. I prefer to rely on, as already mentioned, repetition,
motifs, symbology as well as the illogical, the nonsensical, the opposite, the
asymmetrical, free association and different forms of composition. These, I
like to think as companions for laying foundations to a new work. Between the
blank canvas and myself is a conveyer belt of all these symbols, forms and
incoherencies providing open ended consequences that I either take on board or
edit out.
Stuart Murphy.
